You Can Still See The Pope On A Wing And A Prayer

MIAMI — Procrastinators, rejoice. If you are a wait-until-the-last-minute type who's dying to see Pope John Paul II when he comes to Miami on Thursday, it's not too late to make arrangements.

Hotel rooms are available. The only real headache visitors should have -- and it will be a big one -- is traffic.

Many of Dade County's major roads will close intermittently, and motorists will have a tough time getting around. It's going to be so confusing that one police officer jokingly suggested out-of-towners include Valium in their survival kits.

Public events during the papal visit include a parade in downtown Miami Thursday evening and a Mass at Tamiami Park in southwest Dade County on Friday morning. Both events will be free.

Hotels have filled much more slowly than expected for the two days of the pope's visit. International Conference Management, the company appointed by the Archdiocese of Miami to handle travel arrangements, has reserved about 400 of the 5,000 rooms it set aside months ago.

Jim Vuko, the company's vice president, chalked up the slow reservation rate to many people coming to Miami on ''red-eye specials,'' charter buses.

If you want to stay in town, Vuko's company will make it easy. Just call the company hot line -- (305)-663-1576 -- and operators will match you with a hotel room in an area where you would like to stay for a price you can pay. The hot line will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and extend its hours to midnight Tuesday and Wednesday.

Most of the rooms near the Mass site are booked, but there are rooms available in South Miami, Miami Beach and downtown Miami, not far from the Biscayne Boulevard parade route.

The parade will start at 7:15 p.m. on Biscayne Boulevard at S.E. Fourth Street and go north to N.E. 37th Street. The distance of the parade is 3.1 miles, and it is scheduled to last about 45 minutes.

With more than 350,000 people expected to attend, police are urging paradegoers to arrive at least two hours before it begins. With many major roads closing by 2 p.m. Thursday, Miami Police Lt. Bill O'Brien suggests that out-of-towners head downtown before 2 p.m.

That's because Interstate 95, the expressway leading to downtown, will be closed between 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. from N.W. 103rd Street to U.S. Highway 1. As a result, anyone heading to the parade on I-95 or on Florida's Turnpike will have to exit at 103rd Street and take one of the north-south secondary arteries, such as N.E. Second Avenue, downtown.

The largest crowds are expected to congregate near the beginning of the parade route, so visitors are more likely to find viewing areas south of N.E. 37th Street. There are about 55,000 municipal and private parking spaces in the vicinity of the parade route. Parking in most city lots will cost $4.

Paradegoers who will be staying near a Metrorail station are encouraged to take that service to one of three stops: the Government Center, Santa Clara or Allapatah. Passengers who disembark at the Government Center will be able to take the Metromover to the parade. Shuttle buses will pick up passengers from the Santa Clara and Allapatah stops and drop them off at the parade.

Metrorail trains will run every six minutes, starting at 10 a.m., to bring people downtown. The Metrorail costs $1 each way. The shuttle bus costs 25 cents.

The Mass is to begin at 10 a.m. Friday and draw between 250,000 and 500,000 people. The park, located off the Tamiami Trail at S.W. 107th Avenue and 24th Street, will open at 12:01. a.m. Friday.

Motorists will be able to park in available roadside spaces near the park but will be barred from being closer than a half mile from the park.

Organizers recommend traveling to the Mass by charter bus. Charter buses not only will be allowed to travel on highways closed to the general public, but they will have on-site parking at the Mass.

Danny Alvarez, with Metro-Dade Transit, said he can take charter-bus reservations through Wednesday. For more information, call his office at 305-375-5675.

Those who prefer to drive their own cars from Central Florida can take Florida's Turnpike to Dade County. Although your map will show the Homestead extension as the best route to Tamiami Park, the extension between Okeechobee Road and State Road 874 will be closed from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.

Alvarez recommends leaving the turnpike at Exit 1 and taking State Road 826 south to any of the exits that will lead you west to the park. The exits include Flagler Street; Tamiami Trail, also known as S.W. Eighth Street or U.S. Highway 41; Coral Way, also known as S.W. 24th Street; Bird Road, also known as S.W. 40th Street; and Miller Drive.

A toll-free hot line -- 1-800-323-8119 -- also has been established for Florida residents who have questions about the traffic, schedule or other details of the papal visit. From Dade County, the number is 375-2785.